Lubricating system for cloth cutting machine



Jan. 20, 1959 J. B. GURY, JR

v LUBRICATING SYSTEM FOR CLOTH CUTTING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 25, 1957 FIG.

INVENTOR. JOHN B. GURY JR.

ATTORNEY Jan. 20,1959 J. B. GURY, JR 2,369,231

LUBRICATING SYSTEM FOR CLOTH CUTTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 25, 1957 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEY JOHN B. GURY JR.

LUBRHCATING SYSTEM FOR CLOTH (IUTTING MACHINE John B. Gury, .112, Richmond Heights, Mo. Application February 25, 1957, Serial No. 642,169 10 Claims. (13]. 30--123) This invention pertains to a lubricating system for a cloth cutting knife of the type that cuts a stack of cloth sheets from a pattern laid out on top of thestack.

An object of this invention is to providea system which will lubricate the bearings, both reciprocating and rotary, of such a knife for an extended period, say 24 hours of continuous use.

Another object is to provide lubrication for the knife as Well as the bearings.

Generally stated, the invention involves a reciprocating crosshead to which the knife is attached, the crosshead making about 5,000 strokes per minute. This crosshead reciprocates on two guide pins, and carries at its middle a bearing for a pin to which the pitrnan is connected. Mounted on the frame at the end of the stroke of the crosshead is a pad of absorbent material which is connected bya wick to a reservoir of oil. The crosshead has a receiver equipped with a similar pad which moves up and makes contact with the stationary pad once every stroke to effect a transfer of a small quantity of oil to the receiver pad. Ducts lead from the interior of the receiver to the separate bearings and serve to deliver oil to. such bearings for lubrication.

A preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a front view of a cloth cutting machine embodying this invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a rear view of part of the machine showing the mounting of the reservoir;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the crosshead with parts broken away, and the reservoir out of its mounting, and

Fig. is an exploded view of the top pad.

The invention may be seen, practically complete, in Fig. 4. The other views show the environment.

A shaft 1 drives a fly wheel 2 which has a crank pin 3. The crank pin 3 drives a pitrnan 4 that drives a crosshead 5 by meansof a pin 6. A knife 7 is attached to the lower end of the crosshead at 8 as shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

The crosshead assembly, as shown in Fig. 4, is mounted in a frame 9 which 'is set into the mainframe, as fwill be described later/ The crosshead moves recipro'cably on two guide pins 1% These pins 10 are mounted in the frame 9 by inserting them in separate holes 11 in the top of the frame, their reduced lower ends being set in sockets 12 provided in the bottom of the frame. The pins 10 are then secured by a cap 13 held by a "screw 14, the cap 13 overlying the upper ends of pins 10 and precluding any upward movement.

The crosshead has two ferrules 15 that slidably receive and enclose pins 10, and a bearing 16 located between the ferrules 15 that accommodates the pin 6. A lower extension 37 of crosshead 5 includes the fitting 8 by which the knife 7 is attached. For reasons which will later appear, the lower extension 37 includes a portion that extends to one ferrule 15 immediately adjacent its respective pin 10.

atent "Ce 2,869,231 P t nt d n 29:

Mounted in frame 9 behind pins10 and above the travel of the crosshead is a pad 17 of an absorbent material such as felt. This pad 17 is secured to the frame 9 by a. metallic cover 18 and a screw 19. The felt pad 17 is' made with an enlarged head portion 20 as shown in Fig. 5 that is substantially enclosed by the cover 18 and two washers 20a, and is made with a tongue portion 38 depending out of cover 18 between ferrules 15. The head portion 20 is provided with a hole 21 in which one end ofa wick 22 is inserted. The other end of the wick is inserted in a reservoir 23 in which a supply of oil is stored. Between the reservoir and the pad 17 the wick 22 is enclosed in a flexible plastic cover 24. A vent hole 25 in the top of the reservoir 23 places the chamber above the oil into communication with the outside atmosphere.

The crosshead includes a receiver 26 which receives oil from the pad 17 every time the crosshead arrives at the top of its stroke. The parts are so placed that the tongue portion 38 of the pad 17 enters the receiver 26 at every stroke to deliver a drop or two of oil. The receiver 26 holds a pad 29 of felt or the like, which receives the oil from tongue portion 38 of pad 17 and distributes it to ducts 27 to lubricate the bearings between the ferrules 15 and the pins 10, and distributes it to duct 28 to lubricate the bearing 16 for pin 6. The pad 29 is held in place by a pin 36 traversing receiver 26. The pin 30 enables the pad 29 to be adjusted vertically in the receiver 26 to assure the desired contact with tongue portion 38 of pad 17 for the transfer of a quantity of oil.

The reservoir 23 is made demountable with the frame 9. It is only necessary, in mounting frame 9 in its place, to unscrew the filling spout 31 from reservoir 23, andmount the reservoir in the main frame, as shown in Fig. 3. A socket 32 in the main frame receives an extension 33 provided on the reservoir 23. Afterward the filling spout 31 can be screwed in again through a lateral hole 34 formed in the main frame. The frame 9 is then aligned in position on the main frame by two guide pins 36 and secured by a screw 35.

In the operation of this device the crosshead 5 reciprocates at about 5,000 strokes per minute. The ferrules 15 ride up and down on the pins 10, which are scored by bearing grooves. The oil is fed by the wick 22 from the reservoir 23 to the pad 17, and keeps pad 17 saturated with oil. Once every stroke the pad 29 makes contact with the tongue portion 38 of pad 17 and receives from it a small quantity of oil which is slightly more than that required to keep pad 29 saturated. As a result, there is a small trickle of oil through ducts 27 to the bearing surfacesbetween pins 10 and ferrules. 15 and through duct 28 to the bearing 16 for pin 6. There is also a small trickleof oil that runsdown the lower extension 37 fromthe bearing surface of one pin wand its ferrule 15 to the knife so' asto lubricate the knife passage through the goods- The amount of oil lubricating the knife is very minute and is absorbed by the lint on the goods, but is sufficient for the purpose described. It will be seen that the pad 17 is immovably fixed, while the pad 29 is accurately adjustable so that the degree and pressure of contact between them can be adjusted to give the exact amount of oil for best lubrication. One filling of oil in the reservoir 23 will normally serve for about twenty-four (24) hours lubrication.

It is here pointed out and emphasized that the reservoir 23 is mounted to frame 9 so that the level of oil in the reservoir is at all times below pad 17. This particular structural arrangement enables pad 17 to be maintained in a saturated condition by the capillary action of oil through the Wick 22 connecting reservoir 23 and pad 17, and precludes any siphoning or gravity action resulting in a continuous oil flow to pad 17 in excess of that required to maintain saturation which would occur if the oil level in a reservoir were located above pad 17.

Thus it is apparent that the bearings are lubricated only when the machine is operating. In other words, oil is transferred and metered from pad 17 to pad 29 only when the pads engage at the upper limit in the range of reciprocating movement of the crosshead. When the operation of the machine is stopped, the pads 17-29 are maintained in spaced relation, which stops the oil feed to the bearings and stops the delivery of oil to pad 17 by wick 22 except for the small amount required to keep pad 17 saturated.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of this invention. Parts of the invention may be used without the whole and improvements may be added while retaining some or all of the advantages of the invention.

I claim: 7

1. A lubricating system for bearings, comprising, a reservoir for the lubricant, a fixed pad, a wick carrying lubricant from said reservoir to said pad, a reciprocating element including bearings and a lubricant receiver, the fixed pad being located adjacent one end of travel of said reciprocating element, a pad in the receiver engaging the fixed pad intermittently to transfer lubricant to said receiver pad, and ducts from said receiver to said bearings to convey lubricant to said bearings 2. A'lubricating system as in claim 1 but further characterized by the provision of means adjustably mounting the receiver pad in said receiver to assure contact with the fixed pad at each reciprocation with only slight compression to effect a transfer of lubricant.

3. A lubricating system for a cloth cutting knife, comprising, a reciprocating crosshead, hearings on said crosshead, a knife secured to the lower portion of said crosshead, a fixed pad adjacent one end of travel of said crosshead, means delivering lubricant to said pad, a receiver on said crosshead, a pad in said receiver arranged to engage the fixed pad at one end of crosshead travel to transfer lubricant to said receiver pad, and means communicating the receiver with said bearings to convey lubricant to said bearings.

4. A lubricating system for a cloth cutting knife as in claim 3, but further characterized by the provision of means on the crosshead connecting at least one of the bearings to the knife to deliver lubricant from said hearing to said knife.

5. A lubricating system for a cloth cutting knife, comprising, a reciprocating crosshead, bearings on said crosshead, a knife secured to the lower portion of said crosshead, a fixed pad adjacent one end of travel of said crosshead, means delivering lubricant to said pad, a receiver on said crosthead, a pad in said receiver, means on the receiver for adjusting the height of the receiver pad, said receiver pad engaging the fixed pad at each reciprocation of the crosshead to effect a transfer of lubricant'to the receiver pad, and means connecting the receiver and bearings to deliver lubricant to said bearings.

6. A lubricating system for a cloth cutting knife, com

prising, a reciprocating crosshead, hearings on said crosshead, a knife secured to the lower portion of said crosshead, a fixed pad adjacent one end of travel of said crosshead, means delivering lubricant to said pad, a receiver on said crosshead, a pad in said receiver adapted to contact said first pad to effect a transfer of lubricant to said receiver pad, the crosshead being provided with ducts communicating the bearings with said receiver to distribute the lubricant to said bearings.

7. A lubricating system for a cloth cutting knife, comprising, a reciprocating crosshead, bearings on said crosshead, a lower extension on said crosshead to which a knife is attached, a fixed pad adjacent one end of travel of said crosshead, means delivering lubricant to said pad, 21 second pad on said crosshead adapted to contact said fixed pad to take lubricant therefrom, and means operatively connecting the bearings to said second pad to convey lubricant to said bearings, said lower extension extending from one of said bearings so that a small quantity of lubricant passes down said lower extension to lubricate the knife.

8. A lubricating system for a cloth cutting machine comprising, a reciprocating crosshead, a knife secured to said crosshead, hearings on said crosshead, a receiver on said crosshead, a pad carried in said receiver, a second pad fixed adjacent one end of travel of the crosshead, a lubricant reservoir, a wick connecting the lubricant of said reservoir to said second pad, said second pad including a portion located to engage the said receiver pad when the crosshead is moved to one end of its travel, whereby to effect an intermittent transfer of lubricant to said receiver pad and said receiver, and ducts connecting the receiver with said bearings to deliver lubricant to said bearings.

9. The combination and arrangement of elements as recited in claim 8, but further characterized in that the reservoir is located so that the level of oil contained therein is below said second pad to assure saturation of said second pad by said wick and yet preclude any oil flow in excess of that required for saturation.

10. A lubricating system for a cloth cutting knife, comprising a reciprocating crosshead, hearings on said crosshead, a knife fixed to said crosshead, a fixed pad adjacent one end of travel of said crosshead, a lubricant reservoir located so that the level of the lubricant contained therein is below said pad, a wick connecting the lubricant of said reservoir to said pad to deliver only an amount of lubricant necessary to keep said pad saturated, a receiver on said crosshead arranged to engage the fixed pad at one end of crosshead travel to transfer lubricant to said reservoir, and means communicating the receiver With said bearings to convey lubricant to said bearings.

References fitted in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 861,793 Ballard July 30, 1907 1,291,504 Hazard Jan. 14, 1919 1,426,918 Shover Aug. 22, 1922 2,176,048 Fleckenstein Oct. 17, 1939 

